Steel rising: See progress from the air at the Uptown Bay City development

BAY CITY, MI — Between downpours, construction crews are making progress on the Uptown Bay City development along the Saginaw River.

Dow Corning's new riverfront building is well under way, said Mary Lou Benecke, spokeswoman for Saginaw-based SSP Associates, the developer behind the project. So far, workers have installed 200 tons of reinforced steel and 3,000 yards of concrete for the Dow Corning Corp. building. The structure is the first of three buildings at Uptown expected to be finished by mid-2014.

Dow Corning, which is based in Williams Township in western Bay County, signed on to occupy 100,000 square feet as one of Uptown's three anchor tenants. McLaren Bay Region and Chemical Bank also will occupy buildings at the 43-acre development on the Saginaw River. The three tenants are expected to bring as many as 500 employees to the downtown Bay City area.

Consumers Energy recently completed boring a subterranean tunnel under the Saginaw River for an electric transmission line that will replace two, 188-foot-tall electric towers that have stood on each side of the river since 1953. The work is part of a $5 million electric overhaul at the site.

The developers of Uptown plan to create retail space, eateries, a day dock and a hotel and conference center at the site. Uptown also will be home to rental apartments and condominiums. Prices still are being hashed out for the 20 Uptown residential units, which will range from 764 to 1,600 square feet, Benecke said.